Chipotle-orange glazed drumsticks

There’s a scene in the movie “Hud” where Patricia Neal’s character offers an orange to Paul Newman. As she’s about to hand it to him she says, “Look it says ‘Florida’ on it. We grow ’em right here in Texas and they send them in from Florida. That makes sense, doesn’t it?” Paul Newman shakes his head and says, “Yeah.”

“Hud”, which is based on Larry McMurtry’s book “Horseman, Pass By,” is a tale about two generations of West Texas ranchers and their conflicting values—the new versus the old. That orange scene isn’t in the book, and yet it’s one of my favorite fictional conversations about Texas food. Indeed—why in the heck would you buy a Florida orange when they grow them in Texas?

Well, the film takes place in summer and that’s not exactly prime time for Texas citrus. Even though we’re accustomed to eating oranges year round, Rio Grande Valley oranges are only available November through March. So I’ve always thought that the summertime setting of the film might explain why the characters are eating Florida oranges when they’re in Texas. (That is unless there’s some deeper significance to the scene that my inner English major just hasn’t figured out yet.)

But yes, I realize it’s June so why am I talking about oranges? Well, the reason why I mention any of this is when I was flipping through this month’s issue of “Everyday Food,” I spotted a chicken recipe that had baked thighs slathered in an orange glaze. It looked appealing, and when I went to the store not only were juice oranges on sale but also were drumsticks. With a few modifications from the original recipe, my dinner plans were confirmed. This recipe is not difficult, as you simply salt and pepper the chicken, bake it, make a sauce and then broil the chicken with the sauce until it’s caramelized. The sauce in the magazine called for orange concentrate, but I made it with fresh-squeezed orange juice along with orange zest for added brightness. I also threw in a chipotle chile for smoky heat and added some molasses for its dark, bittersweet tones.

The resulting drumsticks are sticky, spicy and sweet. And while they make for a great main course, they could easily be passed around as a starter, much like wings. Just be sure to have plenty of napkins on hand as these chipotle-orange glazed drumsticks are definitely a messy affair.

And while you won’t be buying Texas oranges this time of year, please know that these chipotle-orange glazed drumsticks make for such excellent summertime eating, I don’t think your family and friends will mind at all.

Print

Chipotle-orange glazed drumsticks

Servings4

AuthorLisa Fain

Ingredients

12drumsticks

Salt, to taste

Black pepper, to taste

1 1/2cupsfresh-squeezed orange juice

1chipotle chile en adobo

2clovesgarlic, chopped

3/4cupsketchup

1tablespoonmolasses

2tablespoonswhite vinegar

2tablespoonsWorcestershire sauce

Pinchof ground allspice

Pinchof cayenne

1teaspoonorange zest

Paper towelsfor serving

Instructions

Preheat the oven to 450° F. Line a rimmed baking sheet with foil and lightly grease. Sprinkle the drumsticks with salt and pepper, place on the sheet and bake for 40 minutes.

While the chicken is in the oven, in a blender mix together the orange juice, chipotle chile and garlic. Pour into a large saucepot and stir in the ketchup, molasses, vinegar, Worcestershire sauce, allspice, cayenne and orange zest. Bring to a boil (be careful, as it will probably splatter a bit), turn the heat down to medium-low and while stirring occasionally, cook for 35-40 minutes or until thickened. Adjust seasonings and add salt to taste.

When the chicken is done, remove from the oven and turn on the broiler. Add the chicken to the saucepot and toss with the chipotle orange sauce. Drain the fat from the baking sheet and place the glazed chicken back on the sheet. Cook under the broiler for 1-2 minutes or until darkened and brown spots appear.

How funny. For a chicken wing cookoff last weekend, I made a deep-fried chicken wing tossed with a chipotle-orange-honey glaze. I didn't win, but I enjoyed the heck out of that chicken wing and kept thinking about how nice it would be on a bigger, meatier piece of chicken.

Regarding the origin of oranges, that is one of my big hot buttons. I live in Florida and I think we should eat Florida oranges, not California oranges. If the oranges are out of season, we shouldn't eat them and wait until next citrus season. It makes no sense to ship oranges across the dadgum country just so you can have an orange when it's not in season. I refuse to buy a CA orange in a FL grocery store. I stalk my family to make sure they are buying FL oranges and not CA oranges. Yes, this has become an obsession. I'm looking for a therapist.:)

There may not be any TX oranges right now, but local peaches are beginning to appear in the stores and they're delicious!

I would love to say that I'll only eat what's in season locally, but the bottom line is that I'm obsessed with fruit and am willing to buy anything, at any price, that looks ripe and hasn't been banged around too much. I just try to eat more of the local produce during the summer when it's available.

I made these Wednesday at our vacation cottage on the CT shoreline as an appetizer. They were magnificent! Doubled the recipe for 24, didn't have all spice so I substituted with nutmeg and cinnamon. In the words of my nephew Kyle… "Ahhh… these just sing to my soul…"

Just made these for dinner tonight and needed to tell you that they are so delicious. I had some lemon yogurt sauce left over from a previous blog recipe escapade via smittenkitchen and thought it might be a good accompaniment. If anyone out there likes blue cheese with wings you must try this combo! The yogurt sauce cooled down the spicyness and brought out the citrus-y goodness. Mmmm. I got the yogurt sauce recipe from here: http://smittenkitchen.com/2011/08/zucchini-fritters/

It's funny, I just had the orange experience with peaches. I snagged some peaches from elsewhere (Georgia? Florida? I'm not sure) to compare to the better-smelling Texas peaches, and I was shocked at the differences in taste, smell, texture, and then I was blown away by the overall goodness of the Texas peaches. Now I want to make a trip to Fredericksburg or Stonewall!

Recent Posts

Categories

Categories

Never miss a recipe!

Enter your email and you’ll receive a message every time a new post is published.

Leave this field empty if you’re human:

Related posts

Subscriptions

Get exclusive recipes!

If you enjoy reading and cooking from Homesick Texan, please consider supporting the site with a paid subscription. With your subscription you’ll receive access to exclusive content for just pennies a day. Support independent publishing!